Companies around the world, whether they have five employees or five thousand, have one thing in common: a need for computer and network security. How they approach it is another thing entirely.

Small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have an overwhelming burden today as network threats become more sophisticated and potentially damaging. The potential for loss can be overwhelming, especially to a small business with limited IT staff—or none at all.

Web sites are no longer attacked only for the purposes of defacing the site to gain credibility among hacking peer groups. Today it is about the money to be made for the bad guys in the distribution of malware and spam.

Excerpt from:
June 1, 2007
Trusted Strategies LLC
Author: Bill Bosen

Secure Computing Sidewinder 7 vs. Check Point NGX R62

In view of the fact that firewall performance is becoming more and more critical, particularly in light of the need to scrutinize data packets at a more sophisticated level than ever before, we decided to put two industry leaders to the test.

Nearly every enterprise large and small uses a firewall. According to the 2006 Computer Security Institute’s CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, 98 percent of survey respondents use a firewall, and 97 percent use anti-virus software.

Yet the number of organizations suffering from viral infections, break-ins and hacks continues to increase, and the reported losses can be startling. This presents a fundamental question: are firewalls doing any good?

And if they are, why are companies still losing millions of dollars and/or losing consumers in the face of negative publicity even when they use firewalls?